Fred E. Cliffe

Article summary

Frederick Cliffe Howchin (11 April 1885 – 22 September 1957), known professionally as Fred E. Cliffe, was an English songwriter, best known for his work co-writing songs with Harry Gifford for entertainer George Formby. He was born in Liverpool, and by 1907 had started working in music halls as a lightning sketch artist. He moved to London, and by 1910 was working as a songwriter with Fred Godfrey and others. His greatest period of success as a writer came in the 1930s, when he teamed up with Harry Gifford to write some of George Formby's most popular songs. These include "Fanlight Fanny" (1935), "With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock" (1936), "When I'm Cleaning Windows" (1937), "It’s Turned Out Nice Again" (1939), and "Mr. Wu’s a Window Cleaner Now" (1939), some of which also included Formby's name as a co-writer. He was married three times, and died in hospital in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, in 1957, aged 72, from myocardial infarction and coronary thrombosis.

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1907 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of death: 1957 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1907". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of death is "1957". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1362630670